2021 RTDNAC Awards Competition

Winners of the 2021 RTDNAC awards competition were announced Oct. 30, 2021.

Ordering Duplicate Awards

Winners may order duplicate first- and second-place awards at a cost of $35 and $5 each, respectively. 

2021 Awards Presentation

2021 News Director of the Year

Radio

Radio

Breaking News
– First Place: WUNC North Carolina Public Radio – Last Day of Early Voting in Alamance County – Rusty Jacobs
– Second Place: WHQR – Officials Confirm Fatalities After Tornado Strike – Ben Schachtman, Ken Campbell 

Community Impact
– First Place: Blue Ridge Public Radio – COVID in Appalachia
– Second Place: WHQR – Jeremy Owens – Rachel Keith 

Consumer/Economic
– First Place: WHQR – City Officials & Staff Clash Over a Car Wash – Kelly Kenoyer
– Second Place: WHQR – Townhomes Are Making a Comeback … That’s a Good Thing – Kelly Kenoyer 

Education
– First Place: WHQR – Teachers Worry About Returning to Classroom – Rachel Keith
– Second Place: WHQR – Community Groups Clash at Board of Ed Meeting – Rachel Keith 

Entertainment
– First Place: Blue Ridge Public Radio – AVL Fringe Festival Must Go Online Due to COVID
– Second Place: South Carolina Public Radio – Charlestonian’s KISS Collection Donated to Library – Tut Underwood 

General News
– First Place: WHQR – UNCW Settles Lawsuit; Diversity Still a Challenge – Ben Schachtman
– Second Place: South Carolina Public Radio – Are Female Cops the Answer We’re Looking For? – Scott Morgan 

Hard News Feature
– First Place: South Carolina Public Radio – Lowcountry Principal Shines in the National Spotlight – Victoria Hansen
– Second Place: South Carolina Public Radio – A Community Effort to Pay the Bills in Greenville – Scott Morgan 

Health-Medicine
– First Place: WUNC North Carolina Public Radio – Vaccine Barriers for Latinos – Jason deBruyn, Elizabeth Baier
– First Place: South Carolina Public Radio – Seniors Struggle to Get Vaccination Appointments – Victoria Hansen
– Second Place: South Carolina Public Radio – Researcher Finds Possible COVID Warning in Sewage – Tut Underwood 

Investigative
– First Place: WUNC North Carolina Public Radio – DeJoy Fundraising – Jason deBruyn, Rusty Jacobs, Amy Jeffries

Light Feature
– First Place: WUNC North Carolina Public Radio – Black Farmers – Naomi Prioleau, Dave DeWitt
– Second Place: South Carolina Public Radio – USC Library Acquires Major Comic Book Collection – Tut Underwood 

Long-Form Interview
– First Place: WCHL/97.9 The Hill – Jan. 13, 2021: Misinformation, the Media & You
– Second Place: Blue Ridge Public Radio – Superintendent Leads “Hikes for Healing” in GSMNP
– Second Place: WUNC North Carolina Public Radio – Sex Worker Protection in the Wake of Atlanta Shootings– Anita Rao, Kaia Findlay, Amanda Magnus, Jenni Lawson, Lindsay Foster-Thomas 

Outstanding News Operation
– First Place: South Carolina Public Radio
– Second Place: WHQR – Ben Schachtman, Rachel Keith, Kelly Kenoyer, Hannah Breisinger, Ken Campbell 

Podcast (Long)
– First Place: WUNC North Carolina Public Radio – Not Your Guinea Pig – Leoneda Inge, Rebecca Martinez, Kaia Findlay
– Second Place: South Carolina Public Radio – COVID-19 from the Frontlines – A Relentless Assault – Gavin Jackson, A.T. Shire, Sean Birch, Aimee Crouch 

Podcast (Short)
– First Place: WUNC North Carolina Public Radio – Fewer Cells, More Solutions – Charlie Shelton-Ormond, Dave DeWitt
– Second Place: WUNC North Carolina Public Radio – Anti-Riot Law – Rusty Jacobs, Dave DeWitt 

Political/Election
– First Place: Blue Ridge Public Radio – Split Ticket Voters in North Carolina
– Second Place: South Carolina Public Radio – Graham-Harrison Senate Race Is Expensive – Russ McKinney 

Radio News Block
– First Place: WCHL/97.9 The Hill – April 6, 6 a.m. News: Introducing Hubert Davis – Aaron Keck, Brighton McConnell, Elle Kehres
– Second Place: WUNC North Carolina Public Radio – 8:43 a.m. Newscast Aug. 7, 2020 – Will Michaels, Celeste Gracia 

Series
– First Place: WUNC North Carolina Public Radio – The Lives Lost
– Second Place: WUNC North Carolina Public Radio – North Carolina Military Voices – Elizabeth Friend, Adam Hochberg 

Social Reform
– First Place: WUNC North Carolina Public Radio – Alamance Protesters – Naomi Prioleau, Jason deBruyn, Dave DeWitt
– Second Place: WUNC North Carolina Public Radio – USS Doris Miller – Jay Price, Adam Hochberg 

Special Report
– First Place: WHQR – North Carolina’s Coastal Estuaries Are Becoming “Ghost Forests” – Hannah Breisinger
– Second Place: WHQR – Can WAVE Transit Outrun Its Past & Turn Things Around – Kelly Kenoyer 

Sports
– First Place: WPTF – Big Coaching Changes – Jeff Hamlin
– Second Place: Blue Ridge Public Radio – Going Deep: MiLB Is Back